Coal CEO Speaks Out Against GOP Tax Reform Bill

During his campaign, President Trump vowed to represent and protect the middle class. However, many experts are arguing that Trump has yet to deliver on that promise. In fact, some argue that Trump is even hurting the middle class by asserting that the new tax bill will wipe out their industry and with it, their jobs.

The Hill reports that the CEO of one of the nation’s largest coal companies just expressed his concerns on the Senate tax-reform bill. According to Robert Murray, founder and CEO of Murray Energy, the bill would “wipe out” coal mining jobs. He explained that the tax hike on coal mining firms that would result from the changes would cancel out the progress that President Trump has made on reviving the coal industry. He explained: “We won’t have enough cash flow to exist. This wipes out everything that President Trump has done for coal.”

The Senate made alterations to the bill at the end of last week to keep the alternative minimum tax for businesses in order to pay for other changes to the bill — including a more generous deduction for pass-through businesses and the allowance of a property tax deduction for individuals of up to $10,000. But keeping the alternative minimum tax, and the imposition of new limits on the interest deductions that businesses can mark off, would cost Murray Energy $60 million in taxes, CNN reports.

The fight over the alternative minimum tax will be an issue in the House–Senate conference. The House bill repeals the tax. Trump campaigned heavily on revitalizing the coal industry in the U.S. and has made moves to roll back regulations, particularly Obama-era rules related to climate change, that the coal industry has opposed.

Last year, that same CEO told CNN: “I know he cares about the coal miners and their jobs.” But clearly, his actions say otherwise.

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